And these were the days before all the surveillance cameras and things like that so she was just gone for good.
But what was very much there, and what definitely wasn’t good, was what was inside the picnic basket she left.
It wasn’t good in the fact that it was the way she decided to treat a human life, one that was likely her own flesh and blood. But what was good was that my grandpa was working and he got to work right away on finding Doctor December a home.
But this was before Doctor December got his name. At the time he was just John Doe.
“What are we gonna call you?” my grandpa said as he wrapped him in a blanket and waited for the police to arrive.
“Declan,” he said, knowing that Declan was an Irish name that meant “man of prayer” or “full of goodness.” “Declan because I’m going to make sure your prayers for finding a good family are answered because I can see that you’re full of goodness,” he said to him that fateful Christmas Day.
And when it came time to put his name down officially, he wrote Declan December, because we found him on that cold December morning.
And five years later when my dad started kindergarten my grandpa asked him to see the list of children in his class. The second he saw that name on the list he got goose bumps.
“Declan December. Did you meet him today?” he asked my five-year-old dad.
He shook his head.
“That boy’s a miracle. I want you to go up to him tomorrow and introduce yourself.”
“But dad, he’s kind of weird, and really shy.”
“He’s been through a lot already, more than anyone his age, or any age, ever should have to go through. And I know if that boy just gets a friend he’ll go through brick walls for him. You might want to be that friend, son,” my grandpa said.
My dad introduced himself and the rest is history.
They ate lunch together. They played kickball and four square together. They sat next to each other in class. They were inseparable, best buddies.
An amazing man with an amazing story no doubt.
And I want nothing more than to be the next chapter, that final one that makes his life complete.
How perfect an ending would that be for both of us?
But probably not for my dad. I’m sure he would flip.
But there’s something about Doctor December, Declan, that flips a switch on inside me that I can’t flip off…nor would I ever want to try.
Because he’s around and that switch inside me flips on, making me feel alive…it makes me think of how much I want a life with him.
And that’s all that matters. Him. Us. Forever.
CHAPTER 3
Declan
I shut the door to my office as Brandon, Bella’s dad, and Bella drive off.
Brandon and I helped Bella to her dad’s car and then Brandon asked me if I was going home too. I told him no, that I needed to finish up a few things inside first.
I didn’t tell him those things are my ability to focus so I can operate a motor vehicle without crashing.
My head is literally spinning right now. And Brandon offered me money for coming in on a weekend and helping his daughter.
Is he kidding? I should be offering every cent I have to his name for what his family has done for me over the years…and that now includes bringing his daughter to see me.
Damn! I sit down in the waiting room because I need to wait myself, in my own office but I’m not sure I can make it there. I need to wait out this throbbing need in between my legs. I told her to ice down her ankle, but she’s not the only one. I could use an ice bag on my groin right now so all the blood in my body would stop flowing there and I could focus, even if just for a second.
Damn, it is possible to Novocain my own nuts? And nuts is how I’m feeling right now as in crazy about her.
But I never use drugs of any kind and I hope she doesn’t either, especially not birth control when we’re together because I want to see that belly of hers get big when I fill her with my seed and make her pregnant with our first child.
If I were to reason my way through these feelings that just hit me like a freight train, I’d tell myself that because I’m thirty-nine my body must be sending me signals that my window of opportunity to have a family is closing down.
But I know that’s not the case, because when I woke up this morning that thought was the furthest from my mind.
I love my job and I devote every hour I have to getting better at my craft, and fortunately all that work and time I’ve put in have made me one of the best doctors in the country and a lot of money to go along with it.
But I’ve never been a man to spend it, just like I’ve never been a man to even so much as consider having a family even as a passing thought in a fleeting moment.
No way. My family is all the kids I’ve patched up over the years. Helping improve their lives, fixing them when they’re broken…those are my rewards. And from time to time when I see some kid who is about to go to college on a sports scholarship I feel proud that those kids came to me unable to walk, or with a broken arm that was “impossible” to repair, or some other situation that required a modern medical miracle to get them back on their feet.
And to see them walking and then performing at the highest level gives me the feeling of a proud papa.
Or at least close enough, and what I always thought was more than enough.
But not now. I want kids of my own, but only with her. I want our genes to mix and create the beautiful children I know we can create.
But wow…where was Brandon keeping her locked up these last few years?
I get out of the waiting room chair and get the clipboard that has her information on it. I didn’t have him fill in much but he did fill in the birthday while she was waiting. I do the quick math. She’s nineteen.
When was the last time I saw her?
I think back. Maybe her sweet sixteen birthday party?
But she was still a kid then! What in the hell happened in just three short years?
A lot, apparently. Like how her top now seem to stick out a lot more.
A growl comes out of my mouth as I imagine those kids her age at that pool party. Surely I’m not the only one to notice how Bella is a young woman now. Those boys aren’t blind. They see it too and that’s why that one tackled her into the pool. Juvenile flirting, or so he thought.
Suddenly the pencil in my hand snaps. I didn’t even realize I had removed it from the clipboard and was tapping it against it until my fingers cracked it in half at the thought of someone else touching her, no matter how “innocent” it might be.
But what am I going to do, beat up some nineteen-year-old kid?
Hardly.
I’m six foot four and two hundred and twenty pounds with nine percent body fat. I lift weights hard and heavy five days a week and when I’m not lifting I’m running, cycling, or anything else outdoors that gets the blood pumping.
I’m a doctor and a community leader so it’s my job to set a good example for people today, especially for kids.
Damn, there are those thoughts about kids again. I just can’t stop imagining what ours will look like.
Her beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair mixed with my black hair and blue eyes. Talk about striking features.
And at nineteen her body could have our child and bounce right back because she’s so young. We could have three or four before she’s even twenty-five and that’s exactly what I want.
Her…in my house with our children.
And she will be.
And I’ve worked my ass off for years and saved nearly all of my money. I could retire at this point and live off the interest.
That would allow me even more time at home with them.
I shake my head. What in the hell am I thinking? They’re barely a quarter of the way home by now and I’ve already got the whole rest of our lives together mapped out.
This is insane!
And you know what else is ins
ane?
Thinking I’m going to have make her mine when her father and his father are the ones who have done everything for me.
But I’m just crazy enough to not only think I can, but figure out a way to make it happen.
Because without her I would go absolutely insane…in the truest form of the word.
And that’s not going to happen, because I will make her mine.
CHAPTER 4
Bella
When Joshua tackled me into that pool I was so angry.
But when my dad told me Declan would come into his office to see me suddenly my pain turned to anticipation.
Yeah, I could feel my ankle swelling but it’s the body part of his that was swelling today that told me all I needed to know.
When he held my foot in his hands and examined my ankle I had a clear line of sight right into his lap, and his white smock did little to hide what was going on in his groin.
These last couple years my thoughts about him have gone from simple crush to something more. I wasn’t really sure what to call them, and I definitely didn’t want to share them with anyone else, but they were becoming more and more frequent and intense by the day.
And after seeing how his body responded to the feel of my skin in his hands today I feel comfortable thinking of him as Declan, and not just Doctor December. If he’s finally going to have grown up thoughts about me then apparently he sees me as an adult, and as adults I should call him by his first name, even when I’m just thinking about him.
Sometimes I’d even shoot baskets with my dad on the hoop attached above our garage thinking that one of those times he’d invite Declan over. I know how much he likes basketball, but there was only so many times I could tell my dad that “H-O-R-S-E would be so much more fun with another player.” I guess he didn’t get the hint.
But there were no hints in his doctor’s office today. Everything was very straightforward…very straight and very forward.
Wow is he ever hung. I could see his rod poking through straight at me, long and hard and I wanted to get down off that table and help him with what was turning blue just like he was helping me with my ankle, which was also turning blue.
And from the look on his face I’m not sure who was in more pain…me or him. Yeah, my ankle hurt but that huge erection he was trying, and failing, to hide must have been equally as painful.
But the best part was he didn’t give me a prescription for painkillers. He’s not a doctor that likes to medicate. He believes you can learn more by listening to your body. That’s another reason why my dad likes him. He’s very natural in the way he goes about treating things.
And his response to my body developing, even though a little late, was just as natural. And if he listens to the primal response which I clearly saw today then maybe my ultimate crush is going to become something much more real. Something lasting.
How this can work with my dad? I have no idea.
But I do have one idea right now and that’s the only one that matters.
I pick up the piece of paper he gave me from his doctor’s pad today. It has his name and office address monogrammed at the top and it look so professional, successful, and adult. Basically unlike anything those boys I was surrounded by today are even remotely close to at this point in their lives.
Sure, some of them will grow up to be successful and responsible men. But as a bit of an introvert and someone who spends plenty of time alone, I don’t have the time or desire to go through that phase of their life with them. Not to mention some won’t grow up to be adults, especially today with “men” literally hiring video game coaches so they can “get rich” playing eSports.
Are you kidding me? I’m all for pursuing your passions, but the idea of hanging out at huge video game conventions most weekends out of the year while sitting under fluorescent lights becoming completely deficient in Vitamin D doesn’t sound like a lifestyle that I want to be a part of. But I don’t need anything high-class or fancy either.
Just being outside or taking a walk is plenty romantic for me…as long as I’m with the right man. Emphasis on the word “man”.
And Declan is the man, the only man I’ve ever wanted.
As I stare at that paper I see the time tomorrow I’m supposed to go back by his office to make sure my ankle is okay.
And that’s the time he’s not going to have any more thoughts about whether I’m a girl or a young woman anymore. I’m going to make sure of it.
CHAPTER 5
Declan
The next day
I stare at the clock on the wall waiting for the big hand to hit twelve and the little hand to hit five.
I’m on call twenty-four hours a day when my patients need me but I only keep office hours from eight in the morning until five in the evening.
And she’s my last appointment of the day…because I’m ready to tell her it’s time for her to be first place in my life.
I don’t want any distractions. No interruptions. Just the two of us.
“Doctor, your five o’clock is here to see you,” my nurse Nancy says.
“Can you send her in please? Thanks,” I say without even waiting for her to respond. I’m already getting ahead of myself. I need to slow down.
I take a deep breath and blow it out and then repeat the process twice more.
I watch as the doorknob turns slowly and I feel my heart rate pick up.
I stand up and grab the door, remembering she’s on crutches and could probably use some help.
Pull yourself together, Declan.
The second the door opens I lose it. Everything I practiced…strong eye contact. Staying calm. Just being “dad’s buddy.”
It’s all out the window.
She’s got on a tight fire engine red dress that hugs her curves…all of them. And she’s got the ruby red lipstick to match. Her blonde hair is pulled back straight and tight, showing off her delicate jawline, her swan like neck, and her high cheekbones.
And damn is her skin flawless. It’s a golden tone from the summer sun but so clear. She must eat a lot of green leafy vegetables and foods high in vitamin A like carrots and tomatoes because her skin is flawless.
Correction…she’s flawless. Perfect.
And I’ve perfectly wasted all my prep time when she sees that my eyes roam up and down her body before settling on her lips and then finding her eyes.
“Hi Doctor December,” she says.
“Bella,” I say moving closer to her.
She uses the opportunity to immediately pull back one of her crutches as she throws her hand around my shoulder. “Much better,” she says.
But I know my cock is much, much worse.
“Having trouble with the crutches?” I ask as I help her onto the table, wondering exactly how I’m going to do that considering how tight that little dress of hers is.
“They’re great. Thank you,” she says. “Actually I was having more trouble wondering what I should call you.”
I don’t say anything as I get her seated on the table, but she doesn’t move. She just stares up at me.
I take the crutches and walk them to the corner of the room.
“I was thinking Doctor December, but since I’m an adult now I was thinking maybe Declan would be more appropriate,” she says.
Is she trying to torment me, because if not she’s doing an Academy Award winning performance of someone who is.
“Declan is okay,” I say as I move back to her.
“Great,” she says.
“Can you move your legs to the side so I can take a look at that ankle.”
She kind of slides on her butt a little but her legs don’t move at all, or her butt for that matter.
“I’m kind of stuck. This leather is a bit grippy in the heat and my dress is also clinging to my skin with all the humidity. Can you give me a hand?”
Fuck me.
I look down at her waist and see the triangle shape that’s formed just above what I want so bad. The part of h
er that I’m so damn ready to claim for my own and slide my cock so far inside and fill her with my seed making our child.
And she knows it.
She has to know.
I bring one hand down and my thumb finds the top of her thigh as my fingers find the side. I start to slide her around but I swear she’s putting pressure down and in the opposite direction.
Doctor December: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 71) Page 2